Last night "Are You Serious?" event proved to be of outmost importance for our new venture: pricing model, competition, market segments - the panel addressed all of these and helped us to clarify our strategies. Many thanks to Yao for bringing in VCs who are on top of their game to critique us last night!

The Hatchery is a 'must go' for up and coming entrepreneurs. Yao Huang has a wealth of information and knows everyone in the start-up community. Don't hesitate to reach out to her or better yet, keep attending The Hatchery. I know I will.

The Hatchery event was a fantastic forum for new ideas and constructive criticism. I felt like I was watching American Idol, except the stars were founders with fresh ideas and slick slide decks instead of warbling vocals. All the judges played Simon, delivering hard-hitting and incisive feedback about the presenter's product and pitch. Time was of the essence and those onstage had five minutes exactly to communicate their concept in a meaningful way before the judges. Five minutes of critiquing followed, and frequently resulted in 'Aha' moments in the crowd. The event was well attended, with startup founders comprising roughly half of the hundred odd heads in the room. Overall, I had a great time, learned a lot about the art of pitching, and would definitely come back!

I thought the group was an energizing group of like minded people that I think can and do help each other in the common pursuit of building businesses and companies, I look forward to getting to know more people.

The 'Are You Serious' event is the perfect environment for entrepreneurs to practice their pitch and get valuable feedback, even make some significant connections. But remember, there are serious individuals in the audience, so don't use it as your first opportunity to practice, prepare well in advance, making sure to incorporate feedback from experts. Having a presentation that is professional and well thought out will make a significant difference in terms of how potential investors and business partners perceive you in the audience. And done well, you can walk away with some great connections, we certainly did.